My point is more that if a person today used that past amount of stuff, they would still be "capable" of being happy. It's not the extra stuff that makes people

My point is more that if a person today used that past amount of stuff, they would still be "capable" of being happy. It's not the extra stuff that makes people happy today. The difference is that society has innumerable ways of pumping FOMO into your head, especially via advertising and social expectations. In other words, if a group of people today made a town where everyone had anti-FOMO/consumerist values, kids only had a few wooden toys and not 5,000 Pokemon cards, etc., I don't think the lack of money and stuff would make them less happy. This makes me think that a group like the Amish would be worth studying WRT money and happiness.